Former President Lee: Taiwan
must declare sovereignty

Taipei, 21 July 2000

In a book, to be published at the end of July, former President Lee
Teng-hui has stated that Taiwan must declare to the world that it is a
sovereign nation.

In the book, titled "Asia's Strategy",
President Lee writes that after many years of control by alien
regimes, such as the Japanese and the Chinese Nationalists, Taiwan has
now developed into a democratic, sovereign country.

With full democracy, Taiwan has been reborn as a "new republic"
and is not a province controlled by the mainland, President Lee
writes. "Taiwan must declare to the world that it is a sovereign
nation or risk being taken over by the mainland", he adds. The
new book is printed in Japanese, and excerpts were translated into
Chinese and printed by the Taipei-based Liberty Times.

"Regarding Taiwan's identity, we have already reached the state
of the 'Taiwan Republic of China'," Mr Lee writes. "The
Republic of China no longer is the Republic of China, but is a new
republic or the second republic," says Mr Lee, who quit as
president in May after 12 years.

"... for the sake of Taiwan's future, I believe this is a step
that must be taken," he says. "I was worried that the
succeeding President Chen Shui-bian might not continue to push
forwards this task, ... but I believe he will continue to do it."

In the book, to be marketed in Japan next week, Mr Lee writes that
although Taiwan had long been controlled by alien regimes, first by
Japan as a colonial ruler and later the Kuomintang from the mainland,
it has developed into a sovereign country following a decade of
democratisation.

Mr Lee writes that he proclaimed the "state-to-state relations"
out of concern that Beijing was continuing to push Taiwan into a
corner, and might make a declaration that Taiwan was a local
government of China on the 50th anniversary of its establishment last
October - thereby further isolating Taiwan internationally.